LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Eleven former and current employees of 'The Kelly Clarkson Show' have recently spoken out in an interview, alleging that the popular daytime television series fosters a toxic workplace environment. According to the interview, staff members have experienced "bullying, verbal abuse, and retaliation from high-level producers," with no support from human resources even after reporting these issues.
The 41-year-old singer, Kelly Clarkson, expressed her surprise at the allegations and was not personally accused of any bullying behavior. However, executive producer Alex Duda was described by some staff members as "a monster" in the Rolling Stones interview. The staffers who spoke out wished to remain anonymous due to their fear of retaliation. They also expressed their belief that Clarkson may not be aware of how unhappy the employees are with the working conditions on the show.
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Who is Alex Duda?
Alex Duda is a seasoned television producer with an impressive resume in the entertainment industry. She began her career at E!, producing a range of popular shows including 'Talk Soup' featuring Greg Kinnear, 'Fashion Emergency', and 'Joan Rivers E! Live from the Red Carpet'. Duda then transitioned to Warner Bros owned Telepictures, where she created and executive produced successful syndicated shows such as 'Elimidate' and 'The Tyra Banks Show'. Her work on 'The Tyra Banks Show' earned her two out of her five Daytime Emmy Awards. After her successful run on that show, Duda joined NBC Universal as an executive producer on the 'Steve Harvey Show' in Chicago, where she worked from 2012 to 2017. Duda then took on the role of executive producer for 'The Kelly Clarkson Show', which has been a success throughout its four seasons.
Ex-employees have pointed to Duda as the cause of toxicity
Numerous former employees have identified Duda as the source of toxicity and alleged that she prevents the host from being aware of complaints about unjust treatment, according to the allegations. "I have a friend who's an executive producer who warned me about taking this job, because apparently she has done this on every show she's worked on," one past staffer claimed. One employee provided a detailed account of Duda's alleged explosive anger, which they claim had a detrimental impact on their mental well-being. The employee claimed that Duda's behavior was so intimidating that they would experience severe anxiety and would "regularly vomit."
'I was really traumatized'
One other ex-staffer claimed that they had to take a break from work to safeguard their mental health as they felt "bullied and intimidated by producers." They claimed producers "went out of their way to make staffers feel scared to ask questions and get their work done." In order to cope with the stress, the ex-employee sought assistance from a mental health professional for the first time in their life as they found it difficult to handle the mental strain caused by the workplace environment. "It deterred me from wanting to work in daytime ever again," they say. "When I say I was traumatized, I was really traumatized."
According to one employee, they had a follow-up call with HR after their exit interview to discuss their experiences with two producers. Despite their complaints, the two producers were still promoted. "I don't know what HR does at that show, frankly," the third past employee said. "Nothing of consequence happened." A fourth former employee said they quit after multiple "uncomfortable" experiences with Duda, who they claim asked "why don't Black people want to come to the show."
'They attacked me again'
Another claimed they were "reprimanded by Duda for asking how executive producers were going to have the show address the spread of anti-Asian hate crimes." "I thought I was doing the right thing. Someone brought this to me and I thought it was important," they said. "I can’t believe I raised something that wasn’t easy to raise in the first place, got attacked for it, and then when I told them how they made me feel uncomfortable for bringing an important issue to them, they attacked me again and made me feel even worse."
A former employee told the publication that it is unacceptable to treat people in such a manner, particularly when they are working on a successful TV show that has won Emmys and brings in millions of ad revenue.